The European Channel Leadership Forum is a unique 2 day conference. It brings together leading CEOs from European VARS and MSPs to discuss pressing issues, technologies and developments facing the industry, and also to network with no agenda.

A survey conducted by CRN in June 2018 reveals why some resellers are embracing propositions with enthusiasm and driving customer migration, while others are resisting the increasingly intense pull of the cloud.

To grow, to remain relevant to the customers, and to remain profitable, IT channels (in all their forms) will have to master a number of business model transformations in the cloud and digital transformation era. Read more to learn about the key transformations that IT channels will need to address, in order to bring new capabilities to customers and be successful in the future.

Apple beats profit predictions

Apple exceeded Wall Street expectations for its financial third quarter to post its seventh consecutive quarter of profit, buoyed by strong sales of its iMac computer.

Revenue for the quarter ended 26 June, rose 11 per cent to $1.56bn, of which international sales made up 45 per cent. Net profit doubled to $203m or $1.20 per share, including a one-off $89m tax gain related to the sale of 10 million shares in Arm Holdings.

The figure compared with an income of $101m or $0.65 per share in the same quarter last year.

Without the gain, Apple would have generated earnings of $114m or $0.69 per share, still well above the First Call analysts' consensus estimate of $0.64 per share. The hardware supplier's stock price rose $2.3 to close at $55.9 as a result.

Steve Jobs, acting chief executive of Apple, said: "We are delighted to report our seventh consecutive profitable quarter. Apple is growing faster than the industry, driven by the continual success of the iMac in both the consumer and education markets."

The company has cash balances of $3.1bn and an ending inventory balance of less than one day, which it claims is better than Dell.

At the same time, Apple also announced a plan to repurchase up to $500m of its common stock because, according to Jobs, the plan was a good long-term investment. He added: "We are confident in Apple's future and believe this repurchase plan will produce long-term benefits for the company and our shareholders."